Button attachment and holding means



Jan. 29, 1935. J. w. sTEELE BUTTON ATTACHMENT AND HOLDING MEANS Filed May 29, 1955 INVENTOR J 14 Jfce/e,

ta/Ld ATTORN EY Patented Jan. 29, 1935 BUTTON-ATTACHMENT- AND- HOLDING ANS James" w; Steele, Kansas City Moi Application May 25, 1933, Serial No. 6731397 6 claims." (o1. 24-90) The present invention-relates to'devices foruse in' connection with'the buttons and buttonholes of shirts or the like, and anus to provide a novel means for conveniently"holding'the'collar and buttonholes of a shirt in proper but'eunbuttoned relation during'the various operations of setting; finishing and folding in shirt factories and laundrie's. v

It is a furtherobject of the invention to provide a convenient means'of the character. justxindicated which will not only'serve as a holding means for holding the'partsin the relation describedbut which will on removal leave. the buttons only partly protruding through the buttonholes; whereby the condition of the buttons is automatically checked and at the same time the shirt is' delivered in a condition which will: not require an unbuttoning operation on' the part of-the customer prior to its use;

Itis-further sought t'o'provide a device of a very simple and inexpensive character, easy and con: venientto' use; without damage "of any kind'to the shirt or buttons, and adapted notionly 'as-an aid in dispensing with the objectionable use of pins in shirt folding and finishing operations] but also to'perfornr additional functions as, regards promoting the delivery of the shirt to theicustomer in'a more satisfactory form due "to the absencezjof pins and needfofiunbuttoning the shirt;

to the accompanying drawing illustratingthe de-c vice and mode of its use, after which the va-rious features of novelty will be particularly set forth and claimed;

In the drawing- 4 V Figure 1- is a; plan-view ofa collar-attached form of. shirt in the process of finishing and prior to the folding operation, and having several of therbutton attachments in place; Figure 2- is a planview showing a shirt (ofthe collarless type) folded and ready for delivery (with the button attachments removed);

Figure '3 is an enlarged detail view (partly broken away) showing the device imposition of use; a Y s Figure 4: is'adetail section,- representing a section taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5, is an enlargedperspective detail view of the device; and v v Figure 6' is a similar view showing a modified form of the same. v I

One of the bugbears with which one has to contend in connection with shirts as received from a factory or laundry is the multiplicity of pi'nsvused for holding it in folded condition, and

another one"- perhaps equally annoying is' the necessity of-unbuttoning all the buttons (andper- .hap's pulling some'ofithem loose) before the shirt can be used. These are needless objections if the requirements of the factory orlaundr'y can'be otherwise met for holding the'fold's of the shirt inproper relation during. the processesinvolved; and the shirt delivered to the customer in an equally attractive condition, without any compl'ete buttoning operation taking place at alli It is therefore a primary object of the invention to overcome'these disadvantages, by eliminating entirely the necessity of buttoning any of the buttons of the shirt, so'that thebutt'ons and buttonholes simply fall apart whenthe shirt-is unfolded for usege-with other attendant advantages .to' the factory and laundry asherei-n described.

Referring to the drawing in detail; the improved device may be constructed of any suitable fiexible rjnaterial and is illustrated as of spring wire formation comprising a piece of such wire material bent. to: provide a pair ofv spaced and slightly tapered figures 10 connectedgby aninterior loop or eye portion 12; designed to engage between the button and button strip-25; atop posite sides-of and; around the fastening threads 14 of the button l5ywhen put into operative position as illustrated by Figures'3xand 4; The end portions of the wire are bent to form the shoulders l6, and the terminals 17 of the wireuthen bent toward each other in. overlapping relation; as clearlyshownin Figure 5. The'width of the device at the shoulders 16 is approximately that of the length of the average buttonhole' 18; and the adjacent sides of the fingers l0 converge in the direction of the eye 12; thusproviding a converging passage 19 having'a restricted neck portion 20: c omrnunicating-withthe eye or loop 12 for the purpose of holding the device in place Whenengaged with the button. 7

With this construction, the operation of apply ing the device into holding position consists in simply grasping it by its larger'end and while holding-the button strip so as .to present the but ton opposite the buttonhole,-=inserting the fingers 10 through the hole into forked engagement underneath the button. In this operation, the operator-presses the wire terminal portions 17 soas to slightly contract the outer end of'the device; which also acts to slightly spread the fingers 10, with the result that the latter are more readily pushed 'astride the attaching threads of the but ton; thereafter on releasing the terminals 17, the shoulders 16 spread into engagement with the ends of the buttonhole 18, as shown in Figure 3. Thus the device is held engaged with the button, and the buttonhole is securely held in proper position opposite to and in substantial register or alinement with the button.

In the use of the device, instead of buttoning the shirt 26 in the process of setting, finishing and folding the same, a device is simply inserted through the buttonholes into engagement with corresponding buttons, throughout the shirt, including those of the collar 20 and cuffs 21 where these are so provided. In the case of a collarless shirt 26', as illustrated in Figure 2, the device may be operated like a clip, engaging the overlapping portions of the neckband 22, and with the loop 12 inserted through the buttonholes, as shown. By this means, the devices serve to hold these parts of the shirt together in the proper relation for completing the finishing and folding of the shirt; just as effectively as though they were buttoned, as in the practice heretofore followed. When the folding operation is completed and a retaining band 24 (such as that illustrated in my co-pending application, Serial #667,345 filed April 22, 1933) fastened around the shirt as shown in Figure 2, the devices maybe then withdrawn, and in this operation the buttons 15 are automatically pulled partly through the buttonholes 18, before being entirely released from engagement by the fingers 10, and are thus left partly exposed on the finished'and folded shirt. In the .case of the neck band having no button, the device may of course be left in place to hold its ends together.

It will thus be'apparent that a device is provided which has all the advantages above referred to. When the shirt is unwrapped by the customer, and unfolded, no unbuttoning operation is necessary, since the buttons and buttonhole strips simply fall apart of their own accord. Moreover the use of the device has served to lift the button somewhat on? its strip, and likewise has somewhat'stretched the buttonhole, with'the result that the customer finds the buttoning operationv easier.

The use of the device has other important advantages, namely, those to the manufacturer and to the laundry man. For example, the operation of inserting the device through the buttonholes for engagement with the buttons serves to automatically check up broken buttons, or the entire absence of buttons, and insure against sending out shirts which are defective in. those respects. Be sides the device is of such a character that it cannot possibly damage the buttons or in any other way injure the garment, and its use effects a saving of time and labor by its elimination of the operation of buttoning up all the buttons on the garment,'which is a tedious and bunglesome process tosay the least in comparison with the operation of the present device, which with a little practice may be carried out much more easily than the usual buttoning operation. J

By the practice of the present invention therefore it lis apparent that a material saving is effected as regar'ds both factory and laundry operations, and with corresponding improvement in the service, that a more pleasing and satisfactory product is delivered to the customer. The device is simple, cheap and practical, and While I have illustrated a simple form of embodiment thereof, I desire to reserve the right to make such changes or whatever modifications may be deemed to fall fairly within the scope and spirit of the ton and buttonhole in matched and unbuttoned relation comprising means insertable through the buttonhole and detachably engaging the button, and means connected with said first means and providing a shoulder formation retaining engagement with the corresponding buttonhole of the garment.

2. In combination with the button and buttonhole of a garment, a device for holding said button and buttonhole in matched and unbuttoned relation comprising a forked portion insertable through the buttonhole for detachable engagement with the corresponding button, and an enlarged head portion for shouldered retaining 'engagement with said buttonhole.-

3. In combination with the button and. button hole of a garment, a device for holding said button and buttonhole in matched and unbuttoned relation comprising means insertable through the buttonhole for detachable engagement with the corresponding button, and a compressible head portion engageable with the buttonhole by an expanding action for retaining. engagement therewith. t l

4;In combination with the button and buttonhole of a garment, a device for holding said button and buttonhole in matched and unbuttoned relation comprising a forked portion insertable through the buttonhole for detachable engagement with the corresponding button, and a compressible head portion operative to spreadsaid forked portion for engagement with the button and thereafter being releasable for retaining en gagement with the buttonhole by an expanding action, I

5. In combination with the button and buttonhole of a garment, a device for holding said button and buttonhole in matched and unbuttoned relation comprising a one-piece section of resilient material having its intermediate portion forming a fork insertable through the buttonhole for detachable engagement with the'corresponding button, and the terminal portions of the device forming a compressible head operative to spread said fork portion for engagement with the button and thereafter being releasable for retaining engagement with the buttonhole by an expanding'action. V

6. In combination with the button and buttonhole of a garment, a one-piece device of springlike material for holding said button and'buttonhole in matched and unbuttoned relation comprisingan intermediate portion bent: toform spaced fingers connected by a loop for detachable engagement with the button, the terminal portions of the device forming a compressible head operative to spread said fingers for engagement with the button and thereafter being releasable for retaining engagement with the buttonhole by an expanding action.

JAMES w. STEELE; 

